SWEET PEAS 
UP-TO-DATE 



A 



N ENDEAVOR HAS BEEN 
MADE TO GIVE BOTH 
AMATEUR AND PRO- 
FESSIONAL THE BENEFIT OF 
MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS' 
EXPERIENCE IN GROWING 
THIS FAVORITE FLOWER AT 
FORDHOOK FARMS 




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B L I S H 


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ATLEE 


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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 



SWEET PEAS UP-TO-DATE 

Compiled by G. W. KERR 

FROM OBSERVATIONS MADE AT FORDHOOK 

FARMS TRIAL GROUNDS DURING THE PAST 

TWO SEASONS AND PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE 

IN ENGLAND 






^■*Vf2T 















Countess Spencer Sweet Pea. 

Grown by James W. Nairn, Truro, Nova Scotia, who sends the charming 

photograph from which this engraving has been reproduced. 



SWEET PEAS 
UP-TO-DATE 

WITH A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION 
OF ALL KNOWN VARIETIES, IN- 
CLUDING NOVELTIES FOR 1910 

Compiled by G. W. KERR 




PUBLISHED IN IQIO BY 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO. 

SEED GROWERS, PHILADELPHIA 






^K 



Copyright, iqio, by W. Atlee Burpee & Co., Philadelphia, Pa. 
All rights reserved. 



CCt* 256231 



PREFACE 

For some time past we have been collecting all data 
and information available with a view to revising our 
book "All About Sweet Peas," at the same time 
testing all the novelties (sometimes prior to their 
introduction) : therefore, the lists of varieties as given 
in this publication are "Up-to-date" as far as it is 
possible to make them at the time of writing. 

In 1893 when "All About Sweet Peas" was 
published we were astonished at the demand for litera- 
ture pertaining to the culture, history, etc., of Sweet 
Peas. This book was read probably by nearly two 
hundred thousand planters. 

As is well known, at Fordhook Farms we maintain 
the largest trial grounds in America, the trials of Sweet 
Peas alone generally covering over two acres. All 
novelties are tried side by side with the best of the older 
varieties, and thus the truth is learned as to which are 
really the best and worthy of general cultivation. 

We have recently added to our staff Mr. George 
W. Kerr, who has had many years' experience in 
England, both in the growing and exhibiting of Sweet 
Peas. Of his own knowledge and with the help of the 
notes from the Fordhook trial books, he has entirely 
revised our former publication, —so that the informa- 
tion contained herein is thoroughly "Up to date." 

No flowers are more easily grown than are Sweet 
Peas, and although you may be a novice, success is 
reasonably sure if you carefully follow the cultural 
directions given in this book. 

W. Atlee Burpee & Co. 

Fordhook Farms, December 15th, 1909. 

5 



INTRODUCTION 

"The Sweet Pea has a keel that was meant to seek 
all shores; it has wings that were meant to fly across 
all continents; it has a standard which is friendly to 
all nations; and it has a fragrance like the universal 
Gospel : yea, a sweet prophecy of welcome everywhere 
that has been abundantly fulfilled." 

So said the Rev. W. T. Hutchins, the well-known 
Sweet Pea enthusiast, when attending the Sweet Pea 
Bi-centenary Celebration in London in 1900; and his 
words almost sound like a prophecy, — a prophecy that 
has indeed been abundantly fulfilled. 

As far as we can learn the Sweet Pea is a native 
of Sicily, and we read that in 1699 Franciscus Cupani, 
an Italian monk, sent seeds to England, and so was 
begun the culture of Sweet Peas. 

Although there were several distinct colors in 
cultivation, no great advancement was made until the 
late Henry Eckford of Wem, Shropshire, England, 
in 1870 started his great life work on Sweet Peas. 
Since then the development of this lovely and fragrant 
flower has been one of the floral wonders of the age. 

The late Thomas Laxton of Bedford, England, also 
worked on the improvement of the Sweet Pea, starting 
in 1877. His Invincible Carmine was certificated in 
1883, being the first recorded result of cross-fertili- 
zation, and since then many florists have assisted 
in carrying on the improvement of the Sweet Pea, 
America being to the front as usual, many charming 
and refined varieties being distributed by W. Atlee 

6 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Burpee & Co. and other American seedsmen, and 
quite three-fourths of the Sweet Pea seed used each 
year all over the world is grown in this country. 

Had any one ten years ago said that the Sweet 
Pea would become within the next few years the most 
popular flower of the day, he would have been laughed 
at, and yet this has become an accomplished fact. 

I can well remember when the first "Sweet Pea 
Show" in England was planned (that was some nine 
years ago). Although I was a great admirer of the 
Sweet Pea and had seen and grown all the new varieties 
as they were introduced, I simply laughed at the idea 
of holding a show of Sweet Peas alone — and I was only 
a unit among the many scoffers at the project. But, 
thanks to those at the helm, the first show at the Crystal 
Palace, London, was held, and turned out to be such 
a success that since that year, 1900, the Sweet Pea 
Society has held its annual Show, and now the National 
Sweet Pea Society is among the most flourishing of the 
"one flower" societies; and it is impossible to de- 
scribe to those who have not attended any of their 
exhibitions the enthusiasm which prevails among the 
exhibitors, the immensity of the Show and the exquisite 
exhibits from the trade growers: flowers of the largest 
size with stems eighteen inches to two feet long, the 
long lines of decorated tables, and, last but not least, 
the novelties. Of course, the novelties are not all 
gems of the first water, but no Show passes without 
some great improvement in color or form appearing. 
The Aquarium Show of 1901 will long be remembered, 
as it was there that Silas Cole of Althorp Gardens, 
Northampton, first exhibited his glorious "Countess 
Spencer," which was three years later introduced by 

7 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Mr. Robert Sydenham of Birmingham. The "Count- 
ess Spencer" was such an improvement in size and of 
a form so distinctly new, the immense standard and 
wings being beautifully frilled and waved, that it 
created a perfect sensation at the Show, but since the 
advent of its introduction in 1904 the new waved or 
orchid-flowered varieties have been added to consider- 
ably, and these are practically all sports from the popu- 
lar Countess Spencer. 

The first "Spencer" sports to appear were John 
Ingman and Helen Lewis, followed by Mrs. Charles 
Foster and Mrs. Charles Mander. (These two varieties 
are still not quite fixed and it may be a year or two ere 
they are listed generally.) Since then many new colors 
have been found, a list of which is given on page 27. 

About the same time that Mr. Cole brought out 
Countess Spencer, W. J. Unwin of Histon, Cambridge, 
also found a sport in Prima Donna, and this he called 
Gladys Unwin. It is also of the wavy type and of 
much the same shade of pink as Countess Spencer, but 
the flowers do not come quite so large; and now from 
Gladys Unwin we have another family of lovely form, 
a list of which is given on page 38. 

The merest novice in gardening realizes that the 
Sweet Pea is the most popular annual now cultivated, 
and this is not to be wondered at when we consider 
all its qualities: first, there is the primary question of 
cost, when for a few cents we can have a row right 
around our garden or clumps among our shrubs — and 
what other flower will give us such glorious results so 
cheaply? Then, as to cultivation. The Sweet Pea 
will succeed in practically any good garden soil, though 
extra cultivation will well repay the grower. And, 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



again, what flower gives us such a multitude of ex- 
quisite colors and shades of colors combined with such 
delicate and thrilling fragrance as our "Queen of All 
Annuals" — the regal Sweet Pea? And yet another 
great quality in its favor is that the more flowers you 
cut from your vines, the longer and more continuously 
will the plants continue to bloom. In fact, by not allow- 
ing any seed pods to set, followed up with high-class 
cultivation, Sweet Peas will continue to flower for quite 
three months, and in some locations even longer. 

G. W. Kerr. 

Fordhook Farms, December \$th, 1909. 



% 



SOIL AND PREPARATION 

Any ordinary garden soil will suit Sweet Peas, 
provided the following points are observed: 

First. The ground should be drained or the soil 
be of such a nature that in a season of excessive rains 
the water will not lie and so cause the roots to rot, 
or start mildew among the plants. 

Second. The seeds should be planted in such a 
position that no excessive shade shall interfere with 
the sturdy growth of the vines, as too much shade 
encourages a spindly and weak vine, with few, if any, 
flowers. You should choose, therefore, a spot in your 
garden right in the open, where your plants may have 
all the available light and air, though a little shade 
from the scorching mid-day suns of June and July 
will be found most beneficial. 

Soils cultivated and prepared as for your vegetable 
plot will give fair results, but for this, the Queen of 
all our annual plants, a little extra care and selection 
of soil will be well repaid by the additional size of 
flower, longer stems, better color, and prolonged period 
of blooming. 

Whatever may be the composition of your soil, 
a start should be made in the fall of the year by trench- 
ing it to a depth of from two to three feet. Should 
the subsoil be poor, it would be absurd to bring it to 
the surface, but it should be broken up, turned over, 
and mixed with any old garden refuse or stable litter. 
Place a good layer of half decayed stable or cow 
manure — the latter for preference if the soil is light — 



SOIL AND PREPARATION 



between the second and top spits (spade full), adding 
a good dressing of bone meal as the work proceeds. 
The top spit should be filled in as rough as possible, 
and left so all winter, that the frost, snow, and rain 
may have a better chance of exerting 'their mellowing 
influences upon the soil. Should the under spits be 
very light, I would recommend that it should be taken 
out of the trench and replaced with soil of heavier 
substance. 

If the land is very heavy, with a clay subsoil, long 
stable litter and rough material from the garden 
rubbish heap should be incorporated with the subsoil 
which is broken up, as this will help materially to 
drain and sweeten the trench, and stable manure, road 
sweepings, and wood ashes will help to lighten the top 
spits, adding bone meal as recommended above. 

While on the subject of trenching, we ought to 
explain that where the Sweet Peas are to be planted 
in rows the trench should be taken out two feet wide 
and the rows should be five feet apart. 

As soon as the frost is out of the ground in early 
spring and the soil is in a nice, dry condition, the rows 
should have a fairly heavy coating of superphosphate 
of lime, which can be forked or raked into the soil and 
all made ready for planting. Care should be taken 
that the soil is not too loose, as in this condition it 
would be apt to dry up quickly during the summer; 
therefore, if it is loose and open, get it consolidated by 
forking and treading, but do not attempt to work the 
trench until it is quite dry. 

Soils deficient in lime will be greatly benefited by a 
good dusting of fresh lime put on in the fall or winter, 
using it as soon as slaked. On ground that has been 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



heavily manured for some years this application will be 
found most useful, as it combines with the organic mat- 
ter contained therein, thereby setting free much plant 
food that was not previously available to the crops. 

Where it has been found impossible to trench the 
ground in the fall, this operation should be commenced 
as early as possible in the spring, but in this case only 
old, well decomposed manure should be utilized, using 
bone meal and superphosphate of lime as recommended 
above. 

A point to be observed is that the center of the 
trench should be about three inches lower than the 
ground level, as this will greatly facilitate watering. 

SOWING AND PLANTING 

To those who want the very best results we say 
plant your Sweet Pea seeds in pots. This should be 
done in January or February, according to location, 
using pots of three and one-half or four inches diameter. 
A suitable compost for this might consist of turfy 
loam, leaf soil, and a little sand, all thoroughly mixed. 
A little of the roughest of the turf should be placed on 
top of the crocks to insure perfect drainage, afterwards 
filling the pot to within an inch and a half or so of the 
top. Four seeds will be quite sufficient for each pot, 
covering them with an inch of soil, making all firm and 
labelling each variety as it is sown. The pots should 
be then placed in a frame or cool greenhouse as near the 
light as possible, so that the growth will be kept sturdy 
and dwarf. The frame or greenhouse bench on which 
the pots are to stand should be thoroughly cleaned and 
afterwards given a thorough dusting of soot or lime 



SOWING AND PLANTING 



to kill all insects, or keep them at bay. When the 
young vines are two or three inches tall, insert a few 
twigs in the pots to keep them in an upright position. 

After the first thorough soaking to settle soil and 
seeds, great care should be taken not to overdo the 
subsequent waterings, as in the event of sharp frosts, 
should the Peas be in an unheated structure, there 
is always the danger of the young plants getting frosted. 
In severe weather the careful grower will always see 
that the frame is covered and protected from night 
frosts. 

When the young plants are well through the soil, 
air should be given on all favorable occasions, and if 
the plants have been started in heat they should be 
now removed to a cold frame. As spring advances 
the sashes should be entirely removed during the 
brightest part of the day, keeping them off night and 
day as "planting out time" approaches. According 
to locality and weather conditions prevailing at the 
time, the young plants should be put out from early 
March to early May. 

One pot will be found sufficient to form a good 
clump, and some growers favor this method of growing 
Sweet Peas — the ground for the clump having been 
prepared by taking out the soil to a depth of about 
three feet by three feet and preparing it as before 
explained for the row system. 

When planting in rows each potful should be planted 
about eighteen inches apart in the row. Place the 
entire ball of soil with plants and twigs — taking, care 
to keep all intact — in the hole previously prepared 
for its reception. If the plants are well watered the 
day before planting, the ball of soil will be more likely 

'3 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



to remain entire when knocked out of the pot. Should 
the weather be very dry at the time of planting, it 
may be found advisable to give the newly trans- 
planted vines a thorough watering, and this will like- 
wise help to settle the soil about the roots. 

A good ring of soot (which should be collected 
during the season from the stove-pipe) put on the soil 
round the plants will now be of the greatest possible 
benefit in warding off insects, and even a slight dusting 
of the same material over the young vines has been 
used also to advantage. 

SOWING OUT OF DOORS 
Those who have not the conveniences — or, per- 
chance, think it too much trouble — for the pot method 
of Sweet Pea culture should plant the seeds as early 
in the spring as soil and weather conditions will allow. 
Whether the ground has been prepared as advised in 
a previous chapter or simply dug over one spit deep, 
the procedure is the same. 

A small trench or furrow about four inches deep 
should be taken out and the seed sown evenly, using 
about one ounce of seed to a fifteen-foot row, — covering 
with two inches of soil. After covering make the 
surface soil fairly firm and finish all by putting a good 
dusting of soot along the row, as this will keep away 
birds and insects. 

When the seedlings are about two inches high, thin 
out the young plants, leaving one to every six inches, 
as this will be found quite sufficient to give you a good 
thrifty row, allowing the air and light to circulate 
freely among the growing vines, giving more room to 
the gross feeding and deep searching roots, the natural 

'4 



SOWING OUT OF DOORS 



results being larger flowers, longer stems, better color, 
and more flowers. As the young vines grow, the soil 
should be hoed up to them on either side, thus strength- 
ening the plants and keeping them in an upright position, 
while the slight trench thus made on either side of the 
row is of great benefit when watering the plants during 
a dry spell, or, on the other hand, it acts as a natural 
drain in carrying off the superfluous moisture during 
a very wet period. The rows should be staked now, 
as it is of great importance that the young vines be 
supported from their earliest stage, but this will be 
dealt with in a subsequent paragraph. 

While we are on the subject of sowing, it would 
be incomplete were we not to mention Fall planting. 
For early bloom Fall or Autumn planting is to be 
recommended if your latitude will allow of it. This 
method is largely carried out in many parts of England 
with best results. In the Southern States this operation 
may be done towards the end of October, while for 
this locality (Philadelphia) we have proved that 
November and early December plantings give the most 
satisfactory results. Our experiments at Fordhook 
Farms have shown that Sweet Peas sown in early 
October made growth about three inches tall before 
severe weather set in, and that subsequently the plants 
were frozen out, while seed sown in November and early 
December just started to germinate before frost, and 
as there were no top growths to freeze, withstood the 
winter and started away strongly with the first mild 
weather in March, the earlier varieties showing flower 
on May 15th, while the ordinary varieties of grandiflora 
and Spencer types were in full bloom early in June. 

These experiments in Fall planting seem to show 
■5 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



us that we ought to aim at sowing the seed at as late 
a date as possible, that the seed may lie dormant all 
winter and so be ready to take advantage of the earliest 
mild days of spring, long before we could get on the 
ground to make early plantings. 

The advantages of Fall plantings are early flowering 
and, on account of the slower growth in the early 
stages, a much stronger root growth which will carry 
the plants safely through periods of drought and so 
secure an extended flowering season. 

STAKING AND TRELLISING 
A great diversity of opinion prevails over the ques- 
tion of the most suitable material for staking Sweet 
Pea vines. According to the National Sweet Pea 
Annual for 1907, the opinions of fifty-two experts 
were asked, forty-seven of the number voting for 
sticks, most of them regarding hazel brush as being 
the best. Our own opinion on the matter is strongly 
in favor of good twiggy boughs cut in the late winter 
or early spring, that they may be on the green side and 
so tough enough to last the season. If boughs are 
used, they ought to be inserted at least one foot in 
the soil with the tops inclining, if anything, a little 
outwards: i. e., the tops of the boughs should not 
meet, as it is at this part that so much space is wanted 
when the Peas are in full growth, therefore by inclining 
your sticks outwards it leaves room for all top growth 
and tends to keep your vines in an upright position. 
Should your sticks not be twiggy at the bottom, it 
will be found desirable to insert a few short boughs 
between the taller sticks wherever necessary. 

Now although we might all wish to stake our Sweet 
16 



STAKING AND TRELLISING 



Peas with boughs, in the majority of cases this is an 
impossibility through our inability to procure them: 
therefore, the question of the next best substitute 
arises, and this is to be found in wire netting of four- 
or six-inch mesh. The initial cost of this material is 
certainly a drawback where a large area of Sweet 
Peas is grown, but it will be found the cheapest in 
the long run, lasting as it does for many years. Netting 
four to six feet wide will be found sufficient for this 
locality, but in cooler sections where the Sweet Pea 
vines flourish as they do in our extreme Northern 
States, Canada, and England, this width may have to 
be doubled. Stakes to support the wire netting will 
have to be used, driving these twelve or eighteen 
inches into the ground. Some growers only use one 
row of wire netting, but we believe in the double row, 
say twelve inches apart. Another method is the use 
of soft, light jute twine. In this case stout stakes are 
used, driving one into the ground every five feet down 
the rows on either side of the Peas, then running the 
twine from stake to stake commencing a few inches 
from the ground with six inches between each length. 
This will be found a most economical method of staking 
your Peas, though not so satisfactory as boughs or 
wire netting. 

The Rev. W. T. Hutchins' advice on staking as 
given in one of our former publications is also of in- 
terest on this important point in Sweet Pea culture, and 
we append the following extracts: 

"There are all degrees of success in growing Sweet 
Peas, and the answer to the question of what kind of 
support to give them depends largely on how thrifty 
your vines are. I expect my own vines to make a 

2 l 7 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



strong growth, at least six feet high, and, besides the 
matter of height, it is quite evident that such a weight 
of vines when wet, and when the strain of a gust of 
wind comes broadside on them, will require a very 
strong support. If you care for only moderate success, 
smaller bushes or four-foot poultry wire may be suf- 
ficient. If your soil has neither depth nor riches and 
you provide a six-foot hedge of birch, your bushes will 
be more conspicuous than your Sweet Peas. Or, if 
you neglect your vines, and let them go to seed, they 
will dry up when two-thirds grown. Or, if you plant 
them too thickly, they will make a spindling and 
shorter growth. You are the one to decide whether 
you want a four-foot or a six-foot support. 

"Then, if you ask what to make the support of, 
judging from most people, you will use that which 
comes most convenient. 

"Here are the points to be considered in a support 
for Sweet Peas. Grow them at their best, and provide 
for both height and strength, then allow for their loose 
branching habit, and give them width enough to ramble. 
I use birches entirely. They are brought to me in 
twelve or fourteen foot lengths, just as cut from the 
patch, and from each of these I get one good stout 
one seven feet high, and the lighter top is used to fill 
in. They are less unsightly if the tops are clipped to 
an even six-foot level and the sides are trimmed suf- 
ficiently to present a neat view from the end. These 
twiggy birches are a more natural support and in the 
scorching sun do not heat as wire will. Of course, 
birches last but one year, and should be procured early 
in the spring, before their leaves start. Make ashes 
of them in the fall. 



CULTIVATING, MANURING, AND WATERING 



"There is no limit to the style of trellis that can 
be made, and they should be so made as to take apart 
easily for storing away in the winter. By painting 
the ground end of the posts or uprights with asphaltum 
they will last longer. The printed designs are mere 
suggestions of what can be made cheaply, see page 72. 

" Keep your vines green and growing as long as you 
can. Good rich ground and keeping the pods off will 
do this, and when the vines get above six feet clip 
off the tops and they will send up new branches." 

CULTIVATING, MANURING, AND WATERING 
The liberal use of the hoe between the rows and 
plants will be found of great service in conserving 
moisture and, of course, at the same time keeping 
down the weeds. Should the weather set in very 
dry and hot, a liberal mulching of manure or grass 
should be given, extending quite twelve inches on 
either side of the plants, and a thorough watering 
two or three times a week will keep your seedlings on 
the move. No liquid manure should be applied, 
however, until the first blossoms appear, and then only 
sparingly — or rather in a weak state — -at first, alternat- 
ing the waterings with clear water. As the plants 
come into full flower the manure may be made much 
stronger. 

Now, as to the kind of manure to apply. We 
know that growers of experience have their own pet 
manures and mixtures, but the following may all be 
relied upon. One of the least expensive, and one which 
at the same time almost serves a double purpose by both 
feeding the plant and acting as an insecticide, is soot. 
Place about a peck of soot in a bag and let it dissolve 

19 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



for a few hours in an old tub or barrel filled with water. 
Guano may be used in the proportion of one pound to 
twenty gallons of water; or sulphate of potash, one 
ounce to one gallon of water. Farmyard liquid manure, 
used about the color of weak tea, is also of service, 
and nitrate of soda might be used occasionally at the 
rate of, say, \ ounce to a gallon of water. When using 
manure water, it is well to let it follow a thorough 
soaking with clear water, that the fertilizing material 
may penetrate to the lowest roots, and if possible all 
watering should be done after the sun has gone down, 
as this will to a great extent save the cracking of the 
soil and allow the plants to get the full benefit of the 
moisture. Spraying the vines overhead in the cool 
of the evening will be found to benefit the plants during 
a hot, dry spell. 

BUDS DROPPING 

Where the plants have been well cultivated and 
heavily manured and the vines consequently are grow- 
ing vigorously, it sometimes happens that a large 
proportion of the first buds drop from the flower stem 
before opening. The grower need not be alarmed 
at this, as the vines will soon assume their natural 
mode of procedure, all buds subsequently opening 
and remaining on the stem as they should do. Bud 
dropping is most frequently met with in a wet season. 

WINTER BLOOMING SWEET PEAS 

Sweet Peas are now being grown in yearly increasing 
quantities under glass to produce the ever welcome, 
fragrant flowers during the dull days of winter and 
spring. 



WINTER BLOOMING SWEET PEAS 



To succeed in this, a heated greenhouse is naturally 
indispensable, and the seeds may be sown on benches, 
in the border, or in pots. The date of sowing will 
depend on when the Sweet Peas are wanted in bloom. 
(The early varieties take from two to three months from 
sowing.) If in pots, it is well to plant six seeds in a 
three- or four-inch pot in a mixture of leaf soil, loam, 
and sand, placing the pots as near the glass as possible, 
and in the early stages of growth they must be kept 
quite cool : in fact, at this period they are better started 
in a cold frame (if sown in the fall) and brought into 
heat after they are repotted. (If sown in beds the 
heat may, of course, be regulated by the valves.) This 
operation should be attended to when the plants are 
about four inches high, using six-inch pots and adding 
a little manure to the potting soil. The plants will 
need also a few twigs inserted round them to keep the 
vines upright and so materially assist their growth. 
When the roots are freely working round the sides of 
the pots, they should then get their final shift into 
ten-inch pots, or even larger, and the bottom portion 
of the soil for this last potting should consist of two 
parts old rotted manure, standing the pots on a thick 
turf, placed grass side downwards, that the roots when 
they work through the pot may get nourishment and 
assistance therefrom. As the plants will now be grow- 
ing freely, they can stand more heat (an average 
temperature of from 6o° to 70 Fahr. by day should 
not be exceeded, at the same time giving as much ven- 
tilation as possible), but to encourage a sturdy vine 
keep as near the light as possible. During bright 
weather they should be sprayed night and morning 
with water the same temperature as the house, occa- 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



sionally using a weak solution of whale-oil soap to 
keep the vines free from insects. 

When the plants begin blooming, frequent applica- 
tions of liquid manure, or occasional top dressings of 
soil mixed with good commercial fertilizer, will materi- 
ally assist the vines and prolong the flowering period. 

Burpee's early varieties, sown the first week in 
October in the greenhouses at Fordhook, began bloom- 
ing towards the end of November, while the later 
varieties, sown on the same date, came into bloom about 
four weeks later. The varieties are Burpee's Re- 
Selected Earliest of All, Burpee's Earliest White, and 
Burpee's Earliest Sunbeams. Good varieties to follow 
these are Mont Blanc, Shasta, Countess Spencer, 
Florence Morse Spencer, John Ingman, White and 
Primrose Spencers, Janet Scott, Lady Grisel Hamil- 
ton, Flora Norton, Helen Pierce, etc. 

Mr. Anton Zvolanek, of Bound Brook, New Jersey, 
is to be congratulated on his improvements in early 
flowering Sweet Peas, and the varieties introduced 
by him include many different colors. Among the 
best of them might be mentioned: Mrs. E. Wild, a 
beautiful rosy self-colored variety; Mrs. A. Wallace, 
rosy lavender; Mrs. Wm. Sim, salmon pink; and Mrs. 
F. J. Dolansky, a lovely pale pink. We shall continue 
watching Mr. Zvolanek's work with great interest. 

SEED AND SLOW GERMINATION 
The majority of the blue and lavender colored 
Sweet Peas produce small, poor looking seeds of a 
mottled appearance, which by the novice may be 
regarded as of inferior quality, yet it is simply the nature 
of these varieties to produce such seed, and they are 



INSECT PESTS AND BLIGHT 



of as good germinative power as the large, round, 
plump seed which we find in the other colors. 

Some seasons Sweet Peas are slow in germinating 
or fail to do so altogether. Now, before condemning 
the seedsman, it is well to find out where the fault 
lies, and if the grower will take the trouble to carefully 
examine the seed, nine times out of ten he will find that 
although they are still perfectly dormant they are quite 
plump and fresh, and if the outer coating is cut with 
a sharp knife, taking care not to harm the embryo 
plant, he will find that in a few days they will germinate 
freely and well. The reason assigned for this state 
of affairs is that the seeds have been so well ripened — 
say after a very hot, dry summer — that the coating 
has become so hard as to be quite impervious to mois- 
ture. 

In the case of new and expensive varieties, many 
growers have now adopted the method of cutting all 
the seed ere planting. 

White seeded varieties are also a cause of much 
annoyance at times, as they are apt to rot in the ground 
should the weather be wet and cold after planting. 
We should, therefore, advise sowing these rather 
thicker than the dark seeded sorts, and not so deeply; 
or, to hurry germination, and so avoid the risk of them 
rotting in the soil, the seed should be soaked in tepid 
water for twelve hours previous to planting. 

INSECT PESTS AND BLIGHT 

The cut worm. — This pest is in some seasons most 

destructive to the vines in early stages of growth, and 

various methods of combating its ravages have from 

time to time been advocated, such as hand-picking, 

2 3 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



sowing lettuce beside the rows of Peas, etc. However, 
a dusting of tobacco powder or soot will be found as 
effectual a deterrent to the mischief caused by these 
worms as anything you can try. 

Red spider and green aphis or "pea louse". — 
These small insects are apt to attack the vines during 
hot and dry periods, and war must be waged against 
them as soon as they appear or they will multiply so 
quickly as to soon destroy all growth. We recommend 
spraying with whale-oil soap or a weak solution of 
kerosene emulsion. Vines that are kept growing 
steadily and that receive a spraying of clear water 
occasionally in the evening are less liable to be attacked 
by these pests. 

The sweet pea blight, as the writer has seen it, 
appears to be caused by drought combined with shallow 
cultivation, for had the roots been able to penetrate 
the hard subsoil and reached rich soil, the plants 
would naturally have kept healthy and strong, instead 
of drying up, flagging, and becoming yellow, in many 
cases ere they had even bloomed. 

THE "SPENCER" TYPE OF SWEET PEAS 
The introduction of Countess Spencer in 1904 will 
be marked as creating a new era in the Sweet Pea 
world. This, the most lovely of all blush pink Sweet 
Peas, is at once the largest and the forerunner of quite 
a new type. Previous to the Countess Spencer appear- 
ing, our Sweet Peas were either of hooded standard or 
expanded upright standard forms. Countess Spencer 
was the first to appear with beautifully frilled and wavy 
standard and wings, of immense size — but, alas, it 
was not fixed to type, as it sported very badly. This 

24 



SPENCER SWEET PEAS 



sportive character, however, has proved really a blessing 
in disguise, as so many of the sports were of quite new 
shades, at the same time containing all the parents' 
characteristic form and size. All would have been right 
had the various seed-growers not been in such a hurry 
to rush those unfixed sports upon the market, much 
to the disgust of many amateur growers. 

A peculiarity about the "Spencer" sports is that 
they generally come in duplicate: i. e., the same 
color in Spencer and grandiflora types. Take, for 
instance, Helen Lewis and John Ingman: with Helen 
Lewis sport there was also a very large grandiflora 
sport of the same color, similar in appearance to Lady 
Mary Currie, and with John Ingman appeared a variety 
of much the same color, but also of grandiflora type. 
The result was that both were saved, and as the old 
type is so much more prolific in seed-bearing, the result 
became worse instead of even remaining stationary. 
However, observant growers are now becoming more 
careful in the saving and roguing of their stocks, so 
that in the future we may hope for better results from 
new colors of the Spencer type. 

Much has been written on the sportiveness of Count- 
ess Spencer and its seedlings, some growers affirming 
that it is caused by small insects, others that the bee 
is supposed to split the calyx or keel and so carry the 
pollen to other varieties; others again explain how the 
pistils in some flowers are enlarged and come out 
through the keel, and so are in a position to catch the 
pollen from other varieties; but it is a question how 
any of these theories can be established, as it is a rec- 
ognized fact that emasculation has been effected ere 
the flower opens. 




MARIE CORELLI- from a Photograph. 
2b 



LIST OF "SPENCER" SWEET PEAS 

including those introduced up to 1909 and advance 

trials of varieties to be introduced in 1910. 

Varieties marked with an asterisk are not yet in general cultivation. 

America Spencer. (Ready in 191 1.) Red flaked on 
white ground. 

Audrey Crier.* (Breadmore, 1908.) A lovely shade 
of salmon pink, of the largest size and finest form. 

Anna Lumley.* (Lumley, 1909.) Synonymous with 
Othello Spencer. 

Apple Blossom Spencer. (Burpee, 1908.) Rose and 
blush. The form is beautiful and it is of largest size. 

Asta Ohn. (Morse, 1909.) Charming soft lavender, 
suffused mauve. 

Aurora Spencer. (Burpee-Morse, 1909.) Cream 
white ground; exquisitely flaked and mottled rich 
orange salmon. 

Beauty.* (Bolton-Sharpe, 1908.) A blush pink Spen- 
cer. 

Beatrice Spencer. (Morse, 1909.) White ground 
tinted with soft pink and buff on the standard, while 
each wing has a blotch of brighter pink near the base. 

Blush Spencer.* (King, 1909.) White suffused blush 
pink. 

Bobbie K.* (Chandler-Unwin, 1908.) A pale pink 
Spencer. 

Breadmore's Lavender.* (Breadmore, 1909.) (Lav- 
ender George Herbert.) A lavender Spencer. 

Captain of the Blues Spencer. (Morse, 1909.) 
Purplish-maroon. Wings purple showing veins of 
rosy-purple, variable. Similar in color to Waverly. 

Cecil Crier.* (Breadmore, 1907.) A deep rosy-pink. 

Chilton.* (Clark, 1909.) Pale salmon-pink Spencer. 

27 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Clara Curtis. (Bolton, 1908.) Primrose colored 

Spencer. Synonymous with Primrose Spencer. 
Clark's Duchess.* (Clark, 1909.) Deep salmon. 
Clark's Queen.* (Clark, 1909.) Cream shaded to- 
wards edges of petals with deep pink. 
Codsall Rose.* (Baker, 1906.) A deep rose. 
Colleen.* (W. Deal, 1910.) Carmine standard, 

wings blush. 
Constance Oliver.* (Lumley, 1908.) Delicate pink, 

suffused with cream. Similar to Nell Gwynne. 
Countess of Northbrook.* (Breadmore, 1909.) 

Large pale pink. 
Countess Spencer.* (Sydenham-Cole, 1904.) A 

lovely pale pink. The original "Spencer." 
Crimson Paradise.* (Hemus, 1908.) Crimson. 

Similar to King Edward Spencer. 
Dainty Spencer.* (Bath, 1909.) See Elsie Herbert, 

with which it is synonymous. 
Dodwell F. Brown.* (Eckford, 1909.) Crimson. 
Doris Clayton.* (Breadmore, 1909.) Lavender. 
E. C Matthews.* (Jones, 1907.) Velvety maroon. 
E. J. Deal.* (Johnson, 19 10.) White, edged rosy 

carmine. Similar to Elsie Herbert. 
Earl of Plymouth.* (Baker, 1909.) Buff colored. 
Earl Spencer.* (Cole, Dobbie, 1910.) A waved 

Henry Eckford. 
Edrom Beauty.* (Dobbie, 1910.) Salmon orange. 
Elsie Herbert.* (Breadmore, 1908.) White, edged 

pale rose. 
Enchantress. (Stark, 1906.) Has proved to be 

synonymous with Countess Spencer. 
Eric Hinton.* (Hinton Bros., 1904.) Bright pink, 

deeper towards the edges. 
28 



SPENCER VARIETIES 



Ernest King.* (King, 1909.) Large orange-pink. 

Etta Dyke. (Breadmoi-e, 1908.) Synonymous with 
Burpee's White Spencer. 

Evelyn Hemus.* (Hemus, 1908.) Cream, with a 
picotee edging of terra-cotta pink. 

Flora Norton Spencer. (Morse, 1909.) Beautiful 
pale blue, — a charming color. Not of largest size. 

Florence Morse Spencer. (Morse, 1908.) Beauti- 
ful light pink, deepening towards the edges. Similar 
to Princess Victoria. 

George Herbert. (Breadmore, 1907.) Bright rosy- 
carmine of largest size and best Spencer form. 
Synonymous with John Ingman. 

George Baxter.* (Bolton, 1909.) Maroon, shaded 
violet. 

George Stark.* (Stark, 1910.) An intense dazzling 
scarlet. 

Gipsy Queen.* (Watkins & Simpson, 1909.) Similar 
to but not so good as Ramona Spencer. 

Glory of Paris.* (Clark, 1909.) Similar to Burpee's 
King Edward Spencer. 

Gordon Ankentell.* (Breadmore, 1909.) Flame 
colored. 

Helen Lewis. (Breadmore-Watson, 1906.) Large, 
wavy, orange colored standard; wings, rosy-salmon. 

Horace Skipper.* (Stark, 1908.) Deep rosy-pink. 

J. T. Taylor.* (Breadmore, 1909.) Plum colored. 

John Ingman. (Sydenham-Cole, 1905.) Rosy-car- 
mine with darker shadings, large and of best form. 

Josephine Barnard.* (Bath, 1909.) Rosy-pink; 
standard lighter than wings. 

Kathleen Macgowan.* (Breadmore, 1909.) Sky 
blue. Similar to Flora Norton Spencer. 
29 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



King Alfonso.* (Breadmore, 1909.) Crimson, shad- 
ed magenta. Similar to King Edward Spencer. 

King Edward Spencer. (Burpee, 1909.) Almost a 
crimson scarlet self. A magnificent flower. 

Kitty Clive.* (Bolton, 1909.) Pale scarlet salmon. 

Kitty Crier.* (Breadmore, 1909.) Rose and pink. 

Lady Althorp.* (Cole, 1906.) White, beautifully 
tinted buff. Similar to Mrs. Sankey Spencer. 

Lady Farren.* (Stark, 1909.) Rose. Somewhat 
similar to Marie Corelli. 

Lorna Doone.* (Stark, 1908.) Pale blush. 

Lovely Spencer. (Morse, 1909.) Bright pink at 
the base of both standard and wings, showing a softer 
pink and becoming almost blush white at the edges. 

Lucy Hemus.* (Hemus, 1908.) Light pink on cream. 

Maggie Stark.* (Stark, 1909.) Orange-scarlet. 

Malcolm's Waved Cream.* (Malcolm-King, 1909.) 
Same as Primrose Spencer. 

Marie Corelli.* (Burpee-Morse, 1910.) Brilliant 
rose-carmine or red. Very attractive and belongs in 
all "first do^en" sets. 

Marjorie Linzee.* (Breadmore, 1909.) Rosy pink. 

Marjorie Willis.* (Lumley, 1908.) A large, rose 
colored Spencer, resembling Marie Corelli. 

Maroon Paradise.* (Hemus, 1908.) Deep maroon. 

Masterpiece.* (Dobbie, 1910.) Lavender self, 
flushed rose on standard. 

Maud Guest.* (Eckford, 1909.) Synonymous with 
Lady Althorp. 

Menie Christie. (Dobbie, 1908.) Standard pur- 
plish-carmine; wings, rosy magenta. 

Miriam Beaver. (Burpee-Morse, 1910.) Salmon-pink 

suffused with buff or apricot on a primrose ground. 

3° 







Burpee's King Edward Spencer, —from a Photograph. 
3i 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Miss A. Brown.* (Darlington, 1909.) Synonymous 

with Asta Ohn. 
Miss M. A. Linzee.* (Breadmore, 1908.) A bright 

rosy-pink self. 
Mrs. Andrew Ireland. (Dobbie, 1909.) Similar to 

Apple Blossom Spencer but on a buff ground. 
Mrs. Charles Foster.* (Baker, 1907.) A rosy-lav- 
ender Spencer. 
Mrs. Charles Mander.* (Baker, 1907.) Rich ma- 
genta with rather darker wings. 
Mrs. C. W. Breadmore.* (Breadmore, 1908.) Buff 

ground with picotee edge of rose. 
Mrs. Henry Bell.* (Bolton, 1908.) Rich apricot 

pink on cream ground. Similar to Mrs. Routzahn. 
Mrs. Hardcastle Sykes.* (Bolton, 1906.) A pale 

pink Spencer. Similar to Princess Victoria and 

Florence Morse Spencer. 
Mrs. Hugh Dickson.* (Dobbie, 1910.) A beautiful 

rich apricot on cream ground, shaded pink. 
Mrs. Joseph Chamberlain Spencer.* (Bath, 1909.) 

White striped with rose. 
Mrs. Routzahn. (Burpee, 1909.) Buff or apricot 

ground, flushed and suffused with delicate pink. 
Mrs. R. W. Pitt.* (Stark, 1909.) Rosy cerise. 
Mrs. Sankey Spencer. (Morse, 1909.) A black 

seeded White Spencer, showing a tinge of buff in the 

bud stage. Not of largest size. 
Mrs. T. G. Baker.* (Baker, 1909.) White, edged 

and tinted amber buff. Similar to Lady Althorp. 
Mrs. Walter Carter.* (Bunting, 1909.) A lavender 

colored Spencer. 
Mrs. Wm. King.* (King, 1908.) Synonymous with 

John Ingman. 

32 



SPENCER VARIETIES 



Nancy Perkins.* (Perkins-Unwin, 1910.) A Spencer 

Henry Eckford. 
Navy Blue Spencer.* (Breadmore, 1909.) Blue. 
Nell Gwynne.* (Stark, 1908.) Deep cream, suf- 
fused with salmon. Similar to Constance Oliver. 
Norma.* (Clark, 1909.) Blush, suffused pale salmon; 

pink at edges of petals. 
Olive Bolton.* (Bolton, 1907.) Deep rosy pink. 
Olive Ruffell.* (Stark, 1908.) Bright rosy salmon. 
Othello Spencer. (Burpee-Morse, 1909.) A rich, 

deep maroon of largest size. 
Paradise. (Sydenham, 1907.) Same as Countess 

Spencer. 
Paradise Carmine.* (Hemus, 1907.) Synonymous 

with John Ingman. 
Paradise Ivory.* (Hemus, 1907.) Synonymous 

with Queen Victoria Spencer. 
Paradise Red Flake.* (Hemus, 1908.) A waved 

America, red flaked on white ground. 



At 




Burpee's Primrose Spencer. 
33 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



President.* (House, 1909.) Similar to Senator 
Spencer, but not so much color nor such a desir- 
able variety. 

Primrose Spencer. (Burpee, 1908.) Deep primrose 
or creamy yellow of largest size. Clara Curtis, 
Althorpe Cream, Malcolm's Cream, and Primrose 
Paradise are all synonymous. 

Prince of Asturias.* (Breadmore, 1908.) Standards 
deep chocolate; wings deep purple. Similar to 
Othello Spencer. 




Senator Spencer. Engraved from a Photograph. 
34 



SPENCER VARIETIES 



Princess Alice.* (Bath, 1909.) Same shade as the 

grandiflora Emily Eckford. 
Princess Katherine.* (Bath, 1909.) Pale blush 

pink. 
Princess Victoria. (Dobbie, 1908.) A light pink 

Spencer of largest size, similar to Florence Morse 

Spencer. 
Purity.* (Bolton, 1908.) Synonymous with White 

Spencer. 
Queen Victoria Spencer. (Burpee, 1909.) A black 

seeded Primrose Spencer, flushed rose in the bud 

stage. 
Ramona Spencer. (Morse, 1909.) White, flaked 

light pink or blush. 
Romani Rauni.* (Sydenham-Aldersey, 1909.) A buff 

ground Countess Spencer. 
Rosabelle Hoare.* (Unwin, 1909.) Rose flake on 

white ground. 
Rosalind.* (Clark, 1909.) A deep rose colored 

Spencer. 
Rosie Adams.* (Stevenson -Wright, 1908.) Rosy 

mauve. 
Rosie Sydenham.* (Sydenham, 1906.) Synonymous 

with John Ingman. 
Rosie Gilbert.* (Gilbert, 1908.) A crimson self. 
Senator Spencer. (Burpee-Morse, 1910.) Deep 

claret or wine-color stripes and flakes on a light 

heliotrope ground. 
Silver Wings.* (Stark, 1908.) Similar but not so 

good as Ramona Spencer. 
Sunproof Crimson.* (Sydenham-Holmes, 1910.) 

Similar to King Edward Spencer. 
35 




A SPRAY OF BURPEE'S Wh.TE Spencer. Exactly Natural Size. 
36 



"spencer" varieties 



Sunrise.* (Gilbert, 1909.) An orange self, but not so 
good as Helen Lewis. 

Syeira Lee.* (Sydenham-Aldersey, 1909.) A rich 
salmon pink on a buff ground. 

Sutton's Queen. (Sutton-Rothera, 1908.) Buff 
ground, flushed and edged pink. 

Tennant Spencer. (Morse, 1909.) Purplish mauve 
of largest size and best Spencer form. 

The King. (Dobbie, 1909.) A grand variety; — 
quite similar to Burpee's King Edward Spencer. 

The Marquis. (Dobbie, 1908.) Rosy heliotrope, 
variable. 

Triumph Spencer.* (Bolton, 1909.) Salmon-pink 
bi-color. 

Vera Jeffery.* (Breadmore, 1908.) A pale pink. 

W. T. Hutchins. (Burpee-Morse, 1910.) Light 
apricot or buff overlaid with a beautiful blush 
pink. 

White Spencer. (Burpee, 1908.) Pure white, of 
largest size. The finest white in cultivation. Al- 
though originating in America, it is identical with the 
English Etta Dyke. 

White Paradise. (Hemus, 1908.) Synonymous with 
Burpee's White Spencer. 

Winnie Jones.* (Stark, 1909.) A Spencer Jessie 
Cuthbertson. 

Yankee.* (House, 1909.) An America Spencer. 

Zephyr.* (Hemus, 1908.) A silvery blue self. Simi- 
lar to Flora Norton Spencer, but rather larger. 

Note. We have endeavored to include in the list of " Spencer " Varieties 
all known varieties, and while a number are not yet cataloged generally, we 
trust our efforts will be appreciated by those who are desirous of becoming 
acquainted thoroughly with this magnificent new type of Sweet Peas. 

W. A. B. & Co. 

37 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



UNWIN TYPE OF SWEET PEAS 

These resemble the Spencer type, having the same 
wavy form, but are not so large, the original variety 
being Gladys Unwin. The vines are thrifty and pro- 
duce abundantly the handsome waved flowers which 
make most attractive bouquets. Nora Unwin is 
especially fine in form and Frank Dolby is to be classed 
among the best lavender or light blue. 

A. J. Cook. (Unwin, 1907.) Violet mauve self. 
Variable. 

Anglian Blue.* (King, 1909.) A waved Flora 
Norton. 

Blush Queen.* (Dobbie, 1907.) Pale blush. 

Chrissie Unwin. (Unwin, 1908.) Rosy-red self. 

E. J. Castle. (Unwin, 1907.) Light rosy carmine, 
with light salmon shading. 

Frank Dolby. (Unwin, 1907.) Lavender blue. 

Gladys Unwin. (Unwin, 1905.) Pale pink, beauti- 
fully waved. * 

Jack Unwin.* (Unwin, 1909.) Rose flake on white 
ground. 

Miss E. F. Drayson.* (Unwin, 1908.) Crimson- 
scarlet self. 

Miss Frills.* (Gilbert, 1909.) White shaded blush. 

Mrs. Alfred Watkins. (Unwin, 1907.) Pink shad- 
ing to blush. 

Nora Unwin. (Unwin, 1907.) Pure white, beauti- 
fully waved. 

Phoenix.* (King, 1909.) White, flushed and shaded 
lilac. 

Phyllis Unwin. (Unwin, 1906.) Rosy carmine self. 

Pink Pearl.** (Unwin, 1907.) Rich pink self. 

38 



GENERAL LIST OF SWEET PEAS 



Abbreviations: H., Hooded Standard; S. H., Slightly Hooded 
Standard; E., Erect Standard. 

An asterisk (*) denotes that the variety is nearly extinct. 

Two asterisks (**) mean that the variety is little known, but listed 
in a few catalogs. 

Those printed in heavy type are what we consider the best 
varieties. 

Acme.** (H. J. Jones, 1908.) Blush white. S. H. 

Admiration. (Bur- 
pee, 1900.) Beau- 
tiful pink laven- 
der. H. 

Adonis.* (Carter, 
1884.) Standard 
carmine pink 
with rosy wings. 
E. 

Admiral Togo.** 
(Breadmore, 
1906.) Extremely 
dark violet ma- 
roon. H. 

Agnes Eckford. 
(Eckford, 1907.) 
A soft blush pink, 
self color. H. 

Agnes Johnston. 
(Eckford, 1903.) 
Standards are rose pink, shaded cream; pinkish buff 
wings. E. 

Albatross.** (Dobbie, 1907.) A pure white black- 
seeded variety. S. H. 

Alba Magnifica.* (Henderson, 1890.) A pure white 
self. E. 

39 




Eckford's "Blanche Burpee." 

A typical bloom of the erect or expanded 

type. 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Albion.** (Stark, 1906.) Ivory white. 

Alice Eckford.* (Eckford, 1896.) Creamy white, 

with tinge of purplish violet. E. 
America. (Vaughan, 1896.) White striped red. E. 
American Belle.* (Burpee, 1894.) Standard bright 

rose; wings white with carmine spots. Now dis- 
carded. E. 
American Queen.* (Burpee, 1902.) Standard clear 

salmon red; wings bright deep rose. E. 
Annie B. Gilroy.** (Eckford, 1909.) Deep cerise. 
Apple Blossom. (Eckford, 1887.) Shaded and edged 

soft rose on white. H. 
Aurora. (Burpee, 1897.) White ground, striped 

orange salmon. S. H. 
Autocrat.** Better known under the name of 

Indigo King. 
Annie Stark.** (Stark, 1906.) White delicately 

flushed with pale pink. 
Baden Powell.** (Jones & Son, 1901.) Similar to 

Captain of the Blues. S. H. 
Beacon. (Bolton, 1906.) Standard cerise with creamy 

wings. E. 
Black.* (Noble, Cooper & Bolton, 1880.) Generally 

known as Invincible Black. E. 
Blackbird.** (Bolton-Sharpe, 1908.) Blackish ma- 
roon. Synonymous with Midnight. S. H. 
Baker's Scarlet.** (Baker, 1909.) Scarlet self. E. 
BlackKnight. (Eckford, 1898.) Standard dark claret, 

wings brownish purple. E. 
Black Michael. (Eckford, 1905.) Bright shining 

reddish maroon. E. 
Blanche Burpee. (Eckford, 1897.) Snowy white. 

E. 

40 



GENERAL LIST OF SWEET PEAS 



Blanche Ferry. (Ferry, 1889.) Standard bright 

rose-pink; wings creamy white. E. 
Blue Edged.* (Trevor Clarke-Carter, 1883.) White 

and pink edged with blue. E. 
Blue Hybrid.* Probably identical with Blue Edged. 

E. 
Blushing Beauty.* (Eckford, 1893.) Soft rose- 
pink. H. 
Bolton's Pink. (Bolton, 1905.) Rich orange-pink. E. 
Boreatton.* (Eckford, 1887.) Dark maroon self . E. 
Bride of Niagara.* (Vick, 1895.) Bright carmine 

rose standard; wings white, tinged pink; double 

flowers. E. 
Bridesmaid. (Vaughan, 1904.) Carmine shading to 

rose and pink; wings of a lighter shade. E. 
Brilliant Blue. (Burpee, 1907.) The standard is very 

large, slightly hooded, of the richest dark navy blue; 

the shaded purple wings are deep Oxford blue. E. 
Brilliant.* (Burpee, 1897.) Crimson scarlet. S. H. 
Britannia.** (Dobbie, 1904.) White, flaked crimson. 

S. H. 
Bronze King.* (Haage & Schmidt, 1894.) Coppery 

standard, ivory white wings. E. 
Bronze Prince.* (Eckford-Bull, 1885.) Standard 

rose flushed bronze scarlet with pale blush wings. E. 
Butterfly.* (Sutton, 1878.) White, edged and 

shaded with blue. H. 
California.* (Lynch, 1897.) Very pale pink, self 

colored. H. 
Calypso.* (Eckford, 1900.) Magenta, flushed and 

veined mauve. E. 
Caprice.** (Johnson, 1906.) White, delicately shad- 
ed pale pink. S. H. 

4' 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Captain Clarke.* (Clarke-Sharpe, date of introduc- 
tion unknown.) White, flushed and penciled with 

carmine; wings blue edged. E. 
Captain of the Blues. (Eckford, 1890.) Standard 

bright purple blue; wings paler blue. E. 
Captivation. (Eckford, 1897.) Of a deep magenta 

shade. S. H. 
Cardinal.* (Eckford, 1885.) Scarlet crimson. E. 
Carmen Sylva.* (Laxton, 1892.)' Claret shading to 

white; wings light lilac. E. 
Carmine Rose.** (Muskett.) Date of introduction 

not known. Better known as Princess Beatrice. E. 
Celestial.* (Lorenz, 1896.) Standard light mauve; 

wings lavender. H. 
Chancellor.* (Eckford, 1898.) Standard bright 

orange; wings bright orange pink. H. 
Coccinea. (Eckford, 1901.) Self colored, bright rich 

cherry. E. 
Colonist.* (Eckford, 1898.) Soft lilac, overlaid 

bright rose. S. H. 
Columbia.* (Burpee, 1897.) White ground, suffused 

purple and penciled pink. E. 
Coquette. (Eckford, 1896.) Deep primrose, shaded 

with lavender. S. H. 
Coral Gem.** (Vaughan, 1907.) Light coral self. H. 
Coronation.** (Introducer and year of introduction 

unknown.) Blush with pink at the back of the petal. 
Coronet.* (Walker-Hutchins, 1898.) White striped 

with orange pink. E. 
Countess Cadogan. (Eckford, 1899.) Bluish purple 

standard and clear blue wings. E. 
Countess of Aberdeen.* (Eckford, 1896.) Self col- 
ored soft pink. H. 

42 



GENERAL LIST OF SWEET PEAS 



Countess of Lathom. (Eckford, 1900.) A soft cream 
tint, heavily shaded with flesh pink in the center of 
the standard. H. 

Countess of Powis.* (Eckford, 1897.) Glowing or- 
ange, suffused with purple. E. 

Countess of Radnor. (Eckford, 189 1.) Light lavender 
with faint purplish tinge. H. 

Countess of Shrewsbury.* (Eckford, 1896.) Rose 
standard with white wings. E. 

Creole.* (Burpee, 1896.) The standard is a light- 
pinkish lavender with wings of pure lavender. E. 

Crown Jewel. (Eckford, 1896.) Primrose ground, 
veined with violet. H. 

Crown Princess of Prussia.* (Haage & Schmidt, 
1869.) Deep pink shading to very light pink. E. 

Cream of Brockhampton.** (Foster, year of intro- 
duction unknown.) A clear cream self. 

Cyril Breadmore.** (Breadmore, 1906.) Rosy car- 
mine. S. H. 

Dainty. (Burpee, 1903.) The flowers on first opening 
appear to be white, but quickly change to white with 
pink edge, making a most charming contrast; there 
is more pink on the edges of the standard than on the 
edges of the wings. S. H. 

David R. Williamson. (Eckford, 1905.) The large 
standard is of a rich indigo blue while the wings are 
slightly lighter in shade. S. H. 

Dawn.** (Stark.) Standard light crimson magenta; 
wings white shaded crimson. S. H. 

Daybreak.* (Burpee, 1896.) White marbled rose 
and crimson. E. 

Delicata.* (Stark, 1906.) White tinted with pink. 
S. H. 

43 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Delight.* (Eckford, 1889.) White crested with 

crimson. E. 
Devonshire Cream.** (Bathurst-Mackereth, 1908.) 

Cream self. E. 
Dolly Varden.* (Burpee, 1898.) Standard bright 
purple-magenta shading lighter, almost white on the 
sides and penciled with heavy maroon at the base. H. 

Domino.*'* 
(Henderson, 
1905.) Known 
by its more 
popular name, 
"Speckled 
Beauty." 
Dora Bread- 
more.** 
(B read more, 
1906.) A 
primrose self, 
shaded buff. 
S. H. 
Dorothy Eck- 
ford. (Eckford, 
1903.) Large, 
pure white 
flower. S. H. 
1892.) Large rosy 




Dorothy Eckford. 
Representing the slightly-hooded type. 



(Eckford, 



Dorothy Tennant. 

mauve. H. 
Dorothy Vick.** (Vick, 1897.) Standard scarlet, 

wings crimson, produces double flowers. E. 
Douglas Breadmore.** (Breadmore, 1906.) A 

bright purple flake. S. H. 
Duchess of Edinburgh.* (Eckford, 1887.) Crimson. E. 

44 



GENERAL LIST OF SWEET PEAS 



Duchess of Sutherland.* (Eckford, 1898.) Pearly 
white, suffused light pink. H. 

Duchess of Westminster. (Eckford, 1900.) Apri- 
cot flushed pink; wings rose pink. S. H. 

Duchess of York.* (Eckford, 1895.) White striped 
with pinkish purple. E. 

Dudley Lees.** (Breadmore, 1908.) A deep ma- 
roon. S. H. 

Duke of Clarence.* (Eckford, 1893.) Rosy claret. 
H. 

Duke of Sutherland. (Eckford, 1898.) Standard 
deep claret; wings deep violet blue. H. 

Duke of Westminster. (Eckford, 1899.) A beautiful 
shade of rosy claret. H. 

Duke of York.* (Eckford, 1895.) Standard rosy 
pink; wings white. E. 

Earl Cromer. (Eckford, 1907.) Standard deep red- 
dish mauve; wings large and widely spreading; of 
the same deep rich mauve, but slightly tinged with 
lavender. H. 

Earliest of .All. (Burpee, 1898.) Flowers fully ten 
days earlier than Extra Early Blanche Ferry, bearing 
a profusion of beautifully tinted flowers. Standard 
bright, rosy pink; wings creamy white, suffused 
pale rose. Planted under glass in September the 
vines begin to bloom in November. E. 

Earliest of All Re-Selected Extreme Early. (Burpee, 
1902.) This strain is as much earlier than Earli- 
est of All as that variety is ahead of Extra Early 
Blanche Ferry. The plants come into full flower 
when only twelve inches high. Christmas Pink is 
similar. E. 

45 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Earliest White. (Burpee, 1906.) This was discovered 
in a field of the Re-Selected Burpee's Earliest of All. 
There was only one plant and this produced pure 
white flowers. A crop planted July 12th came in 
bloom August 20th, while the plants of Mont Blanc 
planted on the same day showed no sign of bloom. 
The plant is unusually sturdy and of dwarf and even 
growth. The best white for greenhouse. E. 

Eastern Queen.* (Introducer and year of intro- 
duction unknown.) Cream ground, slightly flaked. 

Eliza Eckford.* (Eckford, 1895.) Flesh pink, suf- 
fused rose and white. H. 

Emily Eckford. (Eckford, 1893.) Rosy mauve chang- 
ing to light blue. S. H. 

Emily Henderson. (Henderson, 1894.) White. E. 

Emily Lynch.* (Lynch, 1897.) Standard scarlet 
rose; wings primrose tinged pink. H. 

Empress of India.* (Eckford, 1891.) Standard rose, 
with white wings. E. 

Etna.* (Laxton, 1892.) A dark brownish crimson 
and violet. E. 

Lvelyn Breadmore.** (Breadmore, 1906.) Blush 
white slightly tinged pink. S. H. 

Evelyn Byatt. (Watkins & Simpson, 1906.) Stan- 
dard scarlet orange, with rosy wings. E. 

Elfrida.* (Johnson, 1904.) Primrose, lightly striped 
rose. E. 

Evening Star.* (Vaughan, 1904.) Primrose, shaded 
light pink. E. 

Fairy Queen.* (Haage & Schmidt, 1872.) White 
with faint carmine pencilings on throat. E. 

Fascination.* (Eckford, 1900.) Magenta mauve; 
wings deep mauve. H. 

46 



GENERAL LIST OF SWEET PEAS 



Fashion.* (Burpee, 1899.) A soft shade of reddish 

lavender, deepening at base of standard. Similar to 

Colonist. H. 
Finetta Bathurst.** (Bathurst-Mackereth, 1908.) 

Pure white. E. 
Firefly.* (Eckford, 1893.) Scarlet crimson. E. 
Flora Norton. (Vaughan, 1904.) A beautiful rich 

lavender, almost a bright blue. E. 
Florence Frazer.** (Vaughan, 1904.) Standard 

bright crimson rose; wings white tinged pink. E. 
Florence Molyneaux.** (Dobbie, 1905.) Cream 

flaked with rose. E. 
Gaiety.* (Eckford, 1893.) Standard flaked with 

cerise pink; wings striped rosy purple. S. H. 
George Gordon.* (Eckford, 190 1.) Claret red, self 

colored, but turns to a dull purple with age. H. 
Gladys Deal.** An English name for the American 

variety, Mrs. Geo. Higginson. S. H. 
Gladys French.** (Unwin, 1909.) A light blue 

Helen Pierce. 
Golden Gate.* (Burpee, 1897.) Pinkish mauve and 

lavender. S. H. 
Golden Gleam.* (Sunset Co., 1897.) Color creamy 

yellow. Nearly identical with Mrs. Eckford. S. H. 
Golden Rose. (Burpee, 1902.) The ground color is 

a clear primrose yellow, beautifully flushed with rosy 

pink. S. H. 
Gorgeous. (Burpee, 1899.) Standard salmon-orange; 

wings heavily suffused orange-salmon. E. 
Gracie Greenwood.* (Eckford, 1902.) Cream shad- 
ed with delicate pink. S. H. 
Grand Blue.* (Eckford, 1886.) Clear, light blue 

color, same as Imperial Blue. H. 
47 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Gray Friar.* (Burpee, 1896.) Heavily shaded with 
watered purple markings on creamy white ground. 
H. 

Helen Pierce. (Vaughan, 1906.) The. color is very 
bright blue, mottled on pure white. E. 

Henry Eckford. (Eckford, 1906.) Bright, soft, flam- 
ing orange, deepening slightly in the center of the 
flower. This variety requires shading with cheese- 
cloth to prevent scalding in bright weather. E. 

Herbert Smith.** (Sydenham, 1908.) A bi-color 
after the style of Evelyn Byatt. E. 

Her Majesty. (Eckford, 1893.) Rosy pink. H. 

Hester.** (Hemus, 1907.) Blue striped, and ap- 
pears to be the same as Marbled Blue. E. 

Hetty Green.* (Ward-Bolton, 1907.) Bright or- 
ange scarlet; wings rosy crimson. E. 

Hilda Jeffery.** (Breadmore, 1907.) Color creamy 
rose. S. H. 

Hon. F. Bouverie. (Eckford, 1899.) Pinkish salmon 
standard; wings shaded to a lighter salmon-buff. 
S. H. 

Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon. (Eckford, 1901.) A beautiful 
primrose color. E. 

Horace Wright. (Eckford, 1907.) A self. A rich 
violet blue color. S. H. 

Hannah Dale.** (Dobbie, 1908.) A large, rich 
maroon self. S. H. 

H. J. R. Digges.* (Eckford, 1908.) Bright claret 
shaded maroon. S. H. 

Ignea.** (Eckford, 1892.) Bright scarlet crimson 
with purple wings. S. H. 

Imperial Blue.* (Eckford, 1886.) Blue and mauve, 
same as Grand Blue. H. 
48 



GENERAL LIST OF SWEET PEAS 



Imperial Purple.* (Introducer and date of intro- 
duction unknown.) Purple with blue shading. E. 

Inconstancy.** (Ferry, 1902.) White and primrose 
flowers on same plant. E. 

Indigo King.* (Eckford, 1885.) Dark maroon pur- 
ple standard with indigo blue wings. Autocrat is 
synonymous. H. 

Invincible Black.* (Introducer unknown, 1871.) 
Dark claret. E. 

Invincible Blue.* 
(Laxton, 1888.) 
Dark blue. E. 

Invincible Car- 
mine.* (Lax- 
ton, 1885.) A 
brilliant, glowing 
carmine. E. 

Invincible Strip- 
ed.* (Carter, 
1874.) Crimson 
striped white. E. 

Invincible Scar- 

LET.* (S. 

Brown-Ca r t e r, 

1866.) Crimson 

scarlet. E. S. 
Invincible Scarlet Striped with White.* (Intro- 
ducer and date of introduction unknown.) Red, 

striped with white. 
Isa Eckford.* (Eckford, 1886.) White suffused 

rosy pink. E. 
Ivy Miller.** (Miller, 1908.) White edged with 

blue. S. H. Similar to Maid of Honor. 
4 49 




Janet Scott. 

Hooded type. 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Janet Scott. (Burpee, 1903.) This might be called a 
new shade of rich pink. The unusual size of the 
wings, with the large, substantial, hooded standard, 
give the flower an appearance of enormous size. H. 

Jeannie Gordon. (Eckford, 1902.) Standard rose, 
shaded cream; wings creamy suffused rose. S. H. 

Jessie Cuthbertson. (Dobbie, 1903.) Flaked and 
striped salmon rose on a cream ground. S. H. 

Jet. (Aldersey-Sydenham, 1909.) Similar to Mid- 
night. 

Josephine White.** (Ferry, 1902.) White. E. 

Juanita.* (Burpee, 1896.) Color pure white, deli- 
cately lined and striped with pale lavender. H. 

J. T. Crier.* (Breadmore, 1907.) A lavender self. 

James Grieve.** (Eckford, 1908.) A large sulphur 
yellow. E. 

Katherine Tracy.* (Ferry, 1896.) Soft, rosy pink, 
lighter at edges. E. 

King Edward VII. (Eckford, 1903.) A bright crimson 
self, large, with three flowers borne on a strong, stout 
stem. S. H. 

Lady Aberdare.* (Breadmore, 1904.) Soft, light 
pink, self colored. H. 

Lady Beaconsfield.* (Eckford, 1892.) Standard 
salmon pink; wings primrose yellow. E. 

Lady Cooper.** (Breadmore, 1906.) A clear, laven- 
der self. S. H. 

Lady Grisel Hamilton. (Eckford, 1899.) Light laven- 
der standard with azure blue wings. H. 

Lady Mary Currie. (Eckford, 1898.) A deep orange 
pink. H. 

Lady M. Ormsby-Gore. (Eckford, 1901.) Pale buff 

tipped deep buff, overlaid with delicate pink. H. 

50 



GENERAL LIST OF SWEET PEAS 



Lady Nina Balfour. (Eckford, 1897.) Delicate mauve 

shaded dove gray. H. 
Lady Penzance.* (Eckford, 1894.) Rose pink, tinged 

orange-salmon. H. 
Lady Skelmersdale.* (Eckford, 1899.) Light car- 
mine standard, shading to white. S. H. 
Lemon Queen.* (Eckford, 1892.) White tinted with 

lemon and blush. E. 
Light Blue and Purple.* (Introducer unknown, 

1700.) Dark maroon with blue shadings. E. 
Little Dorrit.* (Eckford, 1897.) Standard clear 

rosy pink; wings white, suffused rose. E. 
Lord Kenyon. (Eckford, 1900.) Bright rose pink. 

H. 
Lord Nelson. (House, 1907.) A rich, deep navy blue. 

This is identical with Burpee's Brilliant Blue. E. 
Lord Rosebery. (Eckford, 1902.) A self colored 

rosy magenta. H. 
Lottie Eckford. (Eckford, 1894.) White ground, 

delicately edged lavender blue. H. 
Lottie Hutchins.* (Burpee, 1898.) Flaked pink on 

cream ground. S. H. 
Lovely. (Eckford, 1895.) Pink; wings delicate rose. 

H. 
Madame Carnot.* (Laxton, 1892.) A blue self. H. 
Majestic* (Burpee, 1901.) Standard is a deep rose 

pink, while wings are also deep rose but rather 

softer in tone. H. 
Maid of Honor. (Burpee, 1897.) Light blue on a 

white ground, shaded and edged. Similar to Lottie 

Eckford but a better flower. S. H. 
Marchioness of Cholmondeley. (Eckford, 1904.) 

Soft shade of cream overlaid with pink. H. 
5' 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Mars.* (Eckford, 1895.) Rich crimson self. H. 

Marbled Blue.** (Sutton, 1906.) White, striped 
and flaked blue. E. 

May Perrett.** (Eckford, 1908.) Ivory flushed with 
buff. E. 

Memento.** Synonymous with Flora Norton. E. 

Meteor.* (Eckford, 1895.) Orange-salmon standard 
with pink wings. E. 

Mikado.* (Eckford, 1896.) Rose crimson striped 
with white. H. 

Mildred Ward.** (Sydenham, 1907.) Orange-scar- 
let. E. 

Millie Maslin. (Sydenham, 1908.) Rich rosy crim- 
son self. Very much deeper than Prince of Wales. 
S. H. 

Mima Johnston.** (Eckford, 1908.) Bright rose 
carmine. E. 

Miss Bostock.** (Hemus, 1907.) Cream and pink. H. 

Miss H. C. Philbrick.** (Stark, 1905.) Mauve over- 
laid with clear blue. We consider this identical 
with Flora Norton. E. 

Miss Hunt.* (Eckford, 1887.) Standard pale car- 
mine salmon; wings soft pink. E. 

Mid Blue. (Dobbie, 1909.) Of medium size; color 
deep, sky-blue. E. 

Midnight ("Jet"). (Burpee, 1908.) Standard deep 
purplish maroon, almost black; wings darkest claret. 
S. H. 

Miss Willmott. (Eckford, 1901.) Rich orange pink; 
delicately shaded rose. S. H. 

Modesty. (Burpee, 1898.) In strong sunlight it is 
seemingly a silvery white, but the suffused pink tint 
is shown on closer examination. H. 
52 



GENERAL LIST OF SWEET PEAS 



Monarch.* (Eckford, 1891.) Standard bronzy crim- 
son; wings, violet. H. 

Mont Blanc. (Benary, 1900.) Extremely early 
flowering, — white. E. 

Mother o' Pearl.** (Sydenham-Aldersey, 1909.) 
Silvery lavender. S. H. 

Mrs. A. Malcolm.** (Malcolm-King, 1909.) Primose 
self. E. 

Mrs. Bieberstedt.** (Beiberstedt, 1908.) A lovely 
deep lavender self. S. H. 

Mrs. Charles Masters.** (Eckford, 1909.) Stan- 
dard rosy salmon; wings cream. 

Mrs. Collier. (Dobbie, 1907.) In form and substance 
it resembles Dorothy Eckford. The flowers are 
large, coming in threes and fours on long, stiff stems 
and of a rich, primrose tint, entirely free from any 
trace of pink. S. H. 

Mrs. Dugdale. (Eckford, 1899.) Light carmine rose, 
with faint markings of primrose. S. H. 

Mrs. Eckford. (Eckford, 1891.) A primrose self. 
S. H. 

Mrs. Fitzgerald.** (Eckford, 1900.) Buff flushed 
with a tinge of pink. Synonymous with Stella 
Morse. S. H. 

Mrs. George Higginson, Jr. (Vaughan, 1904.) A 
very delicate lavender. E. 

Mrs. Gladstone.* (Eckford, 1890.) Soft flesh pink. 
E. 

Mrs. H. Kendall-Barnes.** (Dobbie, 1905.) Stan- 
dard rich apricot; wings creamy buff. S. H. 

Mrs. Jos. Chamberlain. (Eckford, 1895.) Ground 
color is a clear silvery white, brightly striped soft 
rosy pink. S. H. 

53 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Mrs. Knight-Smith.** (Eckford, 1904.) A pink 
self, hooded with large open wings. Not fixed. 
H. 

Mrs. R. F. Felton.** (Bolton, 1907.) Primrose 
yellow self. Synonymous with Mrs. Collier. S. H. 

Mrs. R. M. Shelton.** (Baker, 1909.) Rosy car- 
mine self. H. 

Mrs. Sankey.* (Eckford, 1890.) Pure white: black 
seeded. H. 

Mrs. Walter Wright. (Eckford, 1903.) The standard is 
a beautiful shade of mauve, clear and bright, while 
the wings are a bright coerulean blue, slightly shaded 
with the mauve color of the standard. H. 

Mrs. Wilcox.** (Gilbert, 1909.) White, striped 
bright red. 

Navy Blue. (Burpee, 1899.) General color effect dark 
blue; standard brilliant royal purple; wings pure 
violet; the whole flower elegantly veined in sharp 
relief. S. H. 

New Countess. (Burpee, 1897.) Pure light lavender 
throughout both on standard and wings. An Im- 
proved Countess of Radnor in which is eliminated the 
reddish cast in standard. H. 

Novelty.* (Eckford, 1895.) Standard orange rose; 
wings delicate mauve. E. 

Nymphaea.* (Vaughan, 1904.) White turning to 
pink. S. H. 

Nigger.* (House, 1905.) Very dark maroon, nearly 
black. H. 

Oddity.* (Burpee, 1896.) Pale carmine edged with 
bright rose. S. H. 

Orange Prince.* (Eckford, 1886.) Bright orange 
pink. E. 

54 



GENERAL LIST OF SWEET PEAS 



Oregoma.* (Walker, 1895.) White striped with 
brownish red. S. H. 

Oriental.* (Burpee, 1898.) Rich orange flowers. H. 

Othello. (Eckfqrd, 1899.) A deep maroon self color; 
very large size; standard slightly hooded. S. H. 

Ovid.* (Eckford, 1894.) Bright rosy pink with 
crimson veins in both standard and wings. H. 

Painted Lady.* (Introducer not known, 1700.) 
Standard rose; wings white tinged with pink. E. 

Peach Blossom.* (Eckford, 1894.) Light salmon 
pink and buff. E. 

Phenomenal. (Henderson, 1905.) White, shaded 
and edged lilac. E. 

Pink Friar.* (Burpee, 1899.) White, lightly mar- 
bled light rose crimson. Large size. H. 

Prima Donna. (Eckford, 1896.) A pure pink self. H. 

Primrose.* (Eckford, 1889.) Primrose self. E. 

Princess Beatrice.* (Hurst, 1883.) A light pink 
self. Syn., Carmine Rose. E. 

Princess Louise.* (Introducer and date of intro- 
duction unknown, — probably first offered in 1895.) 
Magenta-pink standard; lilac wings. E. 

Princess May.* (Laxton, 1893.) Pale mauve stan- 
dard; lavender wings. E. 

Princess of Wales.* (Eckford, 1885.) White striped 
mauve and purple. H. 

Princess Maud of Wales.** (Eckford, 1906.) A 
pale colored Coccinea. E. 

Princess Victoria.** (Eckford, 1891.) Cerise stan- 
dard; wings more pink. E. 

Prince Edward of York. (Eckford, 1897.) Crimson 
scarlet standard. Crimson wings; large open form. 
E. 

55 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Prince of Wales. (Eckford, 1898.) A large, bright 

rose self. S. H. 
Purple King.** (Eckford, 1908.) Purple, shaded 

indigo. E. 
Purple Prince.* (Eckford, 1886.) Standard dark 

maroon; wings purple. H. 
Purple Striped.* (Introducer and date of intro- 
duction unknown.) An old variety; purple striped 

on white ground. E. 
Pink Snapdragon.* (Burpee, 1903.) Soft shell pink. 
Purple.* (Introducer and date of introduction 

unknown.) A rich shade coming between Boreatton 

and Black. E. 
Purple Brown.* An old dark-striped form. 
Prince Olaf. (Dobbie, 1908.) The bold, effective 

flowers are striped and mottled bright blue on white 

ground; of good size with erect standard. E. 
Queen Alexandra. (Eckford, 1906.) An intense bright 

scarlet self. E. 
Queen of England.* (Eckford, 1887.) White self. 

E. 
Queen of Pinks.** (Sutton, 1901.) Pure salmon 

pink. S. H. 
Queen of Spain. (Eckford, 1907.) A new pearly pink 

self. S. H. 
Queen of the Isles. (Eckford, 1885.) Crimson 

scarlet striped on a white ground. S. H. 
Queen Victoria. (Eckford, 1897.) A light yellow or 

primrose self. H. 
Ramcna.* (Burpee, 1896.) Light pink, striped on a 

white ground. S. H. 
Red Riding Hood.* (Sunset Seed and Plant Co., 

1897.) Snapdragon form; crimson. 
56 



GENERAL LIST OF SWEET PEAS 



Regina.** 
self. E. 
Rising Sun.* 



(Bolton-Sharpe, 1908.) A large maroon 



Standard a bright, 
A violet blue self 



1894.) A light pink self. 
1896.) Standard 



crimson 



«. 



(Laxton, 1892.) 

rosy orange; blush wings. E. 
Romolo Piazzani. (Eckford, 1905.) 

of large size. S. H. 
Royal Robe.* (Eckford, 

H. 
Royal Rose. (Eckford, 

pink, deepening at 

center; wings pink. 

S. H. 
Rose Queen.** (Stark, 

1905.) A rosy pink 

self. S. H. 
Sadie Burpee W. S. 

(Eckford, 1899.) Pure 

white flower of large 

size. H. 
Sadie Burpee B. S. 

(Eckford, 1899.) Pure 

white, the flowers 

show a delicate pink 

flush in the standard 

when first opened. 

H. 
Saint George. (Hurst, 1908.) Scarlet orange self; 

large and very bright; awarded the Silver Medal of 

the National Sweet Pea Society, 1907. A great im- 
provement on Gorgeous and Evelyn Byatt. E. 
Salopian. (Eckford, 1897.) A rich, dark crimson self. 

H. 
Scarlet Gem. (Eckford, 1904.) Bright scarlet. E. 

57 




Eckford's "Sadie Burpee." 

Intensely hooded type. 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Scarlet Striped with White.* (Introducer and 

date of introduction unknown.) One of the old 

varieties and discarded some time ago. 
Salvation Lassie.* (Burpee, 1902.) Light carmine, 

the standard and wings both hood like a Salvation 

Army bonnet. 
Sensation.* (Burpee, 1898.) Standard pink and 

buff. Wings white. S. H. 
Senator. (Eckford, 1891.) Creamy white ground, 

striped chocolate. H. 
Shahzada.* (Eckford, 1897.) Dull maroon, shaded 

purple. S. H. 
Shasta. (Morse, 1905.) When first opening the flowers 

have a creamy tint which changes to an ivory white 

when fully expanded. E. 
Snapdragon.* (Burpee, 1900.) White shaded pink; 

flowers are like a Snapdragon bud. 
Speckled Beauty.* (Vaughan, 1904.) Primrose 

ground, marbled with crimson. H. 
Splendid Lilac* (Of German origin, first offered in 

1869.) Dull purple magenta standard; wings white, 

tinged lilac. E. 
Splendour.* (Eckford, 1887.) Deep rosy crimson 

self, with slightly paler wings. H. 
Stanley. (Eckford, 1890.) Self colored in darkest 

maroon of burnished tint. E. 
Stark's Elegance.* (Stark, 1909.) White, feath- 
ered with bright orange scarlet. E. 
Stella Morse. (Burpee, 1898.) Has a faint tinge of 

pink underlying the cream, producing a true apricot 

shade. H. 
Sue Earl.** (Burpee, 1903.) Standard primrose, 

with mauve edges; wings primrose. H. 
58 



GENERAL LIST OF SWEET PEAS 



Sunbeams, Earliest. (Burpee, 1904.) This might be 

described as a primrose "Mont Blanc." The flowers 

are of a rich primrose color and generally borne three 

on a long stem. E. 
Sunproof Salopian. (Burpee, 1900.) This was the 

finest scarlet until 

the introduction 

of King Edward 

VII and Queen 

Alexandra. H. 
Sunrise.** (Vaug- 

han, 1904.) A 

bright pink on 

primrose ground. 

E. 
Sunset.** (Vaug- 

han, 1904.) Prim- 
rose striped dark 

rose. H. 
Sybil Eckford. (Eck- 

ford, 1906.) 

Standard creamy 

buff with slight 

pink or apricot, 

large, open, 

creamy wings. E. 
The Bride.* 

(Lynch, 1897.) 

White self. S. H. 
The Fairy.** (Johnson, 1907.) Lavender and white 

on same stem. 
The Queen. (Eckford, 1886.) Rosy pink, reflexing 

standard, shaded with mauve. E. 




Earliest Sunbeams. 
Early-flowering type. 



59 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



True Lavender.** (Bath, 1909.) In color same as 

Mrs. George Higginson, Jr. Standard notched on 

sides. 
Triumph. (Eckford, 1897.) Creamy white ground, 

suffused with salmon pink and tinged with carmine. 

E. 
Tweedy Smith.* (Breadmore, 1906.) Standard rose 

pink; wings rose suffused pink. H. 
Unique. (Stark, 1906.) White ground, striped pale 

lavender blue. S. H. 
Venus. (Eckford, 1 89 1.) Lovely salmon buff, shaded 

with rosy pink. H. 
Vesuvius.* (Laxton, 1888.) Claret color, shading 

lighter at the edges. E. 
Violet Queen.* (Carter, 1877.) Clear violet color. 

E. 
Waverly.* (Eckford, 1892.) Rosy claret standard, 

blue wings. H. 
Wawona.* (Burpee, 1898.) Striped lavender lilac 

on a white ground. H. 
White Snapdragon.* (Burpee, 1902.) White snap- 
dragon-like flowers. 
White Wonder. (Burpee, 1904.) The flowers are 

pure white and of largest size and sometimes borne 

six to eight on a long, stout stem, many of the flowers 

being double. E. 
Yellow Hammer.** (Breadmore, 1909.) Sulphur 

yellow. 
Zarina.** (Hemus, 1908.) A pearl pink self, being 

an expanded form of Queen of Spain. E. 
Zero.** (Hemus, 1907.) An early pure white. E. 
Zoe.** (Biffen-Unwin, 1906.) A clear, shining blue. 

Similar to Mid Blue. E. 
60 



CUPID SWEET PEAS 

This distinct type of dwarf Sweet Peas was intro- 
duced by W. Atlee Burpee & Co. in 1896 and does 
well in dry seasons and on soils which become hard 
during hot weather. The plants are of low, spreading 
habit with dense green foliage and attain a height of 
from six to nine inches. The plants root deeply and 
flower most freely in hot, dry seasons. They are also 
adapted for pot culture, but in growing them the foliage 
should never be watered; always water round or be- 
tween the plants. A peculiarity about the Cupids is 
that they are quite devoid of fragrance. 

At one time there was listed fully twenty varieties, 
but now only the following are offered by us: — 

Pink Cupid 

White Cupid 

Mixed Cupid 

BURPEE'S BUSH SWEET PEAS 

The plants are semi-erect, fifteen to eighteen inches 
high when in full flower, but branching freely so that 
the close bushes are frequently fifteen inches and more 
in diameter, composed of short erect branches with 
abundant light-green foliage. The tendrils at ends of 
the leaves clasp themselves closely to the adjoining 
branches, so that the whole plant is held quite erect 
though sufficiently open to admit of a freer circulation 
of air than in the low compact form of the Cupid type. 

As these have not met with the success anticipated, 
they have been discarded. We understand in some 
parts of England florists are growing these for cutting 
with larger part of foliage. 

61 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



THE BEST SWEET PEAS 
So much depends on the personal taste or fancy of 
the expert that it would be absurd to say arbitrarily 
that any set of varieties were the very best. However, 
to assist the novice, the following lists of varieties 
(introduced up to 1909) are suggested: 

Best Twelve Varieties of "Spencers" 

Countess Spencer Pink 

Florence Morse Spencer . Blush 

King Edward Spencer. . Crimson Scarlet 

Mrs. Routzahn Apricot and Pink 

Helen Lewis Orange 

George Herbert Rosy Carmine 

Asta Ohn Lavender 

Primrose Spencer Light Yellow 

White Spencer White 

Othello Spencer Maroon 

Apple Blossom Spencer . Rose and blush 

Aurora Spencer White striped Orange-Salmon 

These are all of the Spencer type and make a 
magnificent dozen for any purpose. 

Best Twelve Varieties of the Older or Grandi- 
flora Type 

Dorothy Eckford White 

King Edward VII Crimson 

Lady Grisel Hamilton . . . Lavender 

Black Knight Maroon 

Hon. Mrs. Kenyon Primrose 

Brilliant Blue Blue 

62 



VARIETIES FOR TRUCKERS 



Janet Scott Pink 

Helen Pierce Marbled white and blue 

St. George Orange 

Queen Alexandra Scarlet 

Jeanie Gordon Cream and pink 

Mrs. Walter Wright Mauve 

Varieties for Truckers and Market Gardeners 
Truckers and market gardeners who have a market 
for cut flowers are now awakening to the fact that there 
is money in Sweet Peas. The writer saw a letter from 
a trucker the other day which stated he had made 
$400.00 last season from quarter of an acre of Sweet 
Peas. Therefore, to those in suitable locations this 
is surely encouragement enough to induce them to 
give these popular flowers a trial. We have heard of 
growers sowing their Sweet Peas after taking off an 
early crop of vegetables, but we would rather favor the 
method of sowing the Sweet Peas on a free piece of 
land as early in the spring as possible, putting up the 
trellising at once, and in the space between the rows 
planting an early crop of lettuce, radish, etc., that will 
be cleared away before the Peas come into flower. 
This plan could be altered according to location and 
latitude, or they might be planted in the fall; but 
what we would like to impress upon the grower is 
that it is no use expecting best results if the seed is 
planted late in the spring, for to secure a long flower- 
ing season the roots must have made good growth 
before warm weather sets in. 

As the best prices are obtained from flowers bunched 
in one color, it is advisable to sow named varieties, 
and if only six varieties are wanted to start with, we 

63 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 

recommend the following as being as good as any for 
this class of trade: — 

Dorothy Eckford White 

Janet Scott Pink 

Countess Spencer Light pink 

King Edward VII Crimson 

Lady Grisel Hamilton. . .Lavender 
Brilliant Blue Blue 

Or a more extended list might be made from the 
following: 

Best Varieties for Cutting for Market 
Early Varieties 

Burpee's Earliest White .White 

Burpee's Re-Selected 
Earliest of All Pink and white 

Burpee's Earliest Sun- 
beams Primrose 

Le Marquis or Christmas 
Navy Blue Bright blue 

Mrs. A. Wallace Lavender 

Mrs. Wm. Sim Salmon pink 

While 
Dorothy Eckford Nora Unwin 

Shasta White White Spencer 

White Wonder 

Primrose 
Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon Primrose Spencer 

Pink 
Janet Scott Countess Spencer 

Prima Donna Florence Morse Spencer 

6 4 



EXHIBITING SWEET PEAS 



Rose 
Prince of Wales Mrs. Dugdale 

Crimson and Scarlet 
King Edward VII Salopian (Sunproof Strain) 

Queen Alexandra Chrissie Unwin 

Lavender and Light Blue 
Countess of Radnor Lady Grisel Hamilton 

Flora Norton Mrs. Geo. Higginson, Jr. 

Orange-Pink and Salmon 
Bolton's Pink Miss Willmott 

Saint George 

Blue and Purple 
Brilliant Blue Romolo Piazzani 

Countess Cadogan 

Maroon 
Black Knight Othello 

Striped and Mottled 
Helen Pierce Aurora 

EXHIBITING SWEET PEAS 

Intending exhibitors must keep the blooms hard 
cut from the vines until, say, three days previous to the 
date of the show, and all varieties that are likely to 
scald with the sun should be shaded with cheese-cloth 
or other light material, as in close competition a single 
scorched flower might make all the difference between 
a first or second prize. 

5 65 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Varieties that have orange in their colorings (such 
as Henry Eckford, Saint George, Helen Lewis), the 
scarlets, and the blues, should all be protected. The 
blooms should be cut at the last possible minute, 
choosing whenever practicable the early morning or 
the evening, putting the flowers immediately into water 
and placing in a cool room or cellar until packed. Pick 
only young, fresh blooms with the last flower just 
open or in the opening stage, as should you be cutting 
the day previous to the show, it will be fully expanded 
by the time the judges come around. Cut with as long 
stems as possible. The ideal spray should have a 
stem of from eighteen to twenty-four inches long with 
four good flowers on it. Therefore, aim at the ideal. 

In staging the flowers never crowd them. Let 
every flower "speak for itself." Twenty sprays make 
a nice vase, and the best method of arranging them is 
to start by putting some grass (cut two inches long) 
in the mouth of the vase, as this helps to keep the 
stems in position. Each stem must be put in separately. 
Let every flower be seen as far as possible and all face 
one way, with the exception of such varieties as have 
the back of the standards tinted in coloring other than 
the ground color of the flower, when the position of 
such might be judiciously varied. One or two pieces 
of foliage — a little Gypsophila — or light grass, such as 
Agrostis Nebulosa, might with advantage be used. 
But this should not be overdone, and only if the rules 
allow of it. 

In staging a collection of twelve varieties, they 
should be stood in three rows, the back rows being 
tiered eight or nine inches above the other, and arrange 
the colors so that they do not clash. Even if the show 



SWEET PEAS FOR DECORATING 



schedule does not ask for it, name each variety with 
a neat card placed at the base of each vase. 

During very hot or stormy weather, some exhibitors 
cut their flowers in the bud stage or partly open and 
allow them to fully expand in water, adding about 
a quarter of an ounce of sulphate of iron to three 
gallons of water. 

SWEET PEAS FOR TABLE AND OTHER 
DECORATIONS 

Few flowers lend themselves so readily to the deco- 
rator's art as does the fragrant Sweet Pea. They 
require no wiring or stiffening of the stem — once they 
are cut, they are ready for the deft fingers to create 
charming effects for any purpose. 

Pretty effects may be had by associating two colors 
that harmonize, though perhaps nothing is daintier 
than a table decorated with one variety only — say, 
the beautiful Countess Spencer. A lovely combination 
may be obtained by using Henry Eckford and Mrs. 
Collier, or a crimson and a yellow. Lavender and blue 
Sweet Peas look dull under artificial light, though very 
pleasing at other times. Or, again, various shades of 
pink, from light to dark, form a nice harmony of color 
tints. 

In arranging the flowers let all be as light and airy 
looking as possible; never jam the sprays closely 
together; strive to let every flower be seen. Allow 
a few flowers to stand well above the others, which 
tends to give all a natural appearance. A few sprays 
of colored lycopodium allowed to trail over the sides 
of the receptacles and arranged on the table, or sprays 

67 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



of asparagus, smilax or other light greenery, all help 
the general effect, while light grasses and a little of 
their own foliage inserted among the flowers will lend 
grace and elegance to the arrangement — if not overdone. 



From the Sweet Pea Annual for 1906 

A New Year's Card — Mr. George Stanton's greeting 
to the Secretary of the N. S. P. S. was as follows: — 

"Sweet Pea Culture condensed — twelve words: 
Trench deeply; manure liberally; plant thinly; 
stake quickly; water freely; dispod promptly. With 
best wishes for the success of the National Sweet Pea 
Society in 1906." 




Othello Spencer.^/Vow a Photograph. 
68 



Some Remarks from our Friend and Sweet Pea 
Enthusiast, Rev. W. T. Hutchins, formerly of Indian 
Orchard, Mass., but now Located at Santa Rosa, 
Calif. 

To Sweet Pea Lovers Everywhere: 

I am to have the pleasure of contributing a word 
to the book that Messrs. Burpee & Co. are preparing 
on sweet peas. Several years ago I wrote for Mr. 
Burpee two little books on sweet peas, and at that time 
there was a great wave of popularity which increased 
the sale of sweet pea seed tremendously, and we then 
thought that the flower had attained its highest 
development. Mr. Eckford's name had become every- 
where known as the creator of a new type of this 
flower and his new forms and colors were received 
by the American public with great enthusiasm. Mr. 
Burpee led the seed trade in introducing Mr. Eckford's 
novelties, and from time to time added to them other 
beautiful varieties of American origin. The interest 
that was then kindled in sweet peas has never died 
down, but the immediate occasion of new literature 
on this subject is that we are again at the initial stage 
of another very popular wave of interest in this most 
beautiful flower. Mr. Burpee is again at the front, 
and has with the most unstinted confidence recognized 
that a still more beautiful race of sweet peas has made 
its advent. The race referred to is what is called the 
Spencer type, and its coming will not displace the beau- 

69 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



tiful grandiflora form, but will largely increase the 
scope of pleasure which this flower affords us. It is a 
very distinct type, and from the number of new varie- 
ties already introduced we see that it is even more lovely 
in form than the finest varieties we already had. The 
flowers open in a larger and more expanded form and the 
blossom disposes its newer grace in a waved and fluted 
standard and expanded wings. It began in the Count- 
ess Spencer, a lovely pure pink, and the specialists in 
England and America are now devoting their most 
skilful efforts to obtain all the colors and fancy markings 
of this flower in this new Spencer form. 

After devoting all my leisure time for a good many 
years to sweet peas I was compelled for a while to drop 
all my flower interests, but now again I feel all my old 
enthusiasm under conditions that greatly enhance my 
pleasure in this favorite flower. I am in California now, 
where soil and climate conduce to well-nigh unbounded 
success in growing this beautiful flower at its very best. 
The larger part of the sweet pea seed produced for the 
world's trade is grown here in California, and Mr. 
Burpee wants me to tell of my experience, because I 
make frequent visits to the great seed ranches in this 
State, where he has his imported novelties grown for 
trial, and where the largest experimental work is done 
on this flower. My experience includes the work of 
going all over the grounds, not only taking in trials 
but also observing crops and making notes for the 
floral trade journals. 

I grow personally a list of varieties that keeps me 
in immediate acquaintance with the best that is offered. 
The height of the season of 1909 has just passed with 
me, and I have revelled in sweet peas as never before. 

70 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Growing them for the best garden effect, my vines of 
healthiest green and strongest growth have gone to a 
height of nine to ten feet, and have not only filled my 
cup of pleasure to the brim with their lavish bloom, 
but have, as fast as I and my neighbors could cut them, 
bloomed and rebloomed in apparent mockery of all 
our efforts. We have no sweet pea disease to contend 
with, and being in a position to supply the essential 
conditions of location and soil and generous culture, 
we get nature's most liberal reward. I do not think 
any other flower to-day compares in the pleasure 
afforded one by the growing of sweet peas. I live in 
Santa Rosa, the "City of Roses," but I think my 
sweet peas this year have excited more attention than 
the roses. I am preparing now to plant for next 
season two hundred of the best sorts. 

Now, I would like to make a prudent distinction 
between the matter of my own experience and what 
I would advise for others. As for my own experience, 
1 want just as many of the Spencer varieties as I can 
get. I know their merit and am not troubled if some 
of the newest ones do not come entirely true, as we are 
yet in the early stage of this new class of sweet peas. 
I have seen enough of them to know that the Spencer 
type is worthy of great admiration, but they ought 
not to displace the best of the old grandiflora sorts, 
for my opinion is that if any one buys the White 
Spencer, they should also have Dorothy Eckford, and 
it is no great loss if some of the new sorts drop back 
into the grandiflora form. By getting the Spencer 
stock one is pretty sure to get at least a strong hy- 
bridized quality of flower, and for those who can 
afford to do it, I would advise their getting the Spencer 

7' 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



varieties just as fast as they are gotten ready for dis- 
tribution. They are certainly beautiful! They are 
grand! As you cut them they hold your mind in a 
state of the keenest zest. It is the very music of 
floriculture to now pass from color to color and pick 
a stem of each. I know I am not an abettor of any 
seedsman's trick when I commend in enthusiastic terms 
the new Spencer varieties. The English specialists are 
now in a high pitch of excitement over them, and I 
have revelled in them at the trial grounds here in 
California, and yet, owing to the more popular price 
of the seed of the grandiflora varieties, I could let my 
enthusiasm drop back to them. They too are beautiful 
and the quality of the stock is held up to a praiseworthy 
mark. Every color can be had in this form, and by 
getting one's seed in named packets and from a reliable 
dealer your neighbors will even wonder where such 
sweet peas can be found. 

I still am annoyed, even here in California, with 
great aversion of feeling as I see in so many yards the 
old inferior sorts given a place which ought to be given 
to the improved varieties, and I feel sorry for the women 
who cannot persuade their men folks to thoroughly pre- 
pare a place for this beautiful flower, so that they must 
needs go on planting along some side of the house or 
fence, where there is no depth or fertility to the soil. 
There is such a rich reward for taking a spade and throw- 
ing out the soil eighteen inches deep and making it 
new again with the right kind of manure and fresh 
earth. What a trifling labor for a man to get a place 
ten feet long in right condition, and then for three 
months the pleasure of cutting the blossoms makes one 
feel that life is restored with a new lease. A large 

72 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



part of the satisfaction in growing this flower is in giving 
them a good trellis or support. In the east I used 
good birch brush, but here I make a wire trellis. I 
set strong supports about ten feet apart and as high 
as I calculate the vines will grow. Then I stretch 
No. 20 wire, attaching the strands about four inches 
apart. This makes a good trellis. I do not consider 
this much of a task, even for 300 feet of row, and the 
effect is grand. If the vines do not readily attach 
themselves to the wire, I weave in a few strings and 
draw them up. 

The culture I give the vines makes a very strong 
growth. I intend that my plants shall stand about 
five inches apart and I plant the seed in triple rows, 
so that 21 seeds would make about three feet of row. 
Even this is closer planting than some experts practise. 
To make sure of every plant coming, I first put my 
seed into separate papers and bury the packets for 
about a week, covering them an inch deep. At the 
end of a week's time I uncover the packets and select 
the seed that has begun to germinate and plant them 
just as I want them. This insures just the stand of 
plants you want, and the method protects some of the 
seed that needs special treatment. The more expensive 
the seed, the more care must be taken in germinating. 
Of course, cheap seed can be sown in the old way and 
thinned out. 

Now comes the question of irrigation. Sweet peas 
need a great deal of water. I prepare my rows so 
that they will stand in hollows, allowing the water to 
soak in about the roots. Watering, when done, must 
be done very thoroughly, and after the blooming 
season commences is the time to give the vines extra 

73 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



food. Wash-suds are excellent, or some carefully 
diluted fertilizer can be used. I must emphasize the 
old rule — keep all pods off the vines if a long season 
of bloom is wanted. I have been very much gratified 
the past season with the results of some of my rows that 
had only the morning sun. Varieties that burn in the 
full exposure of the sun did not suffer at all in these 
rows. 

I do not know how I could live without my sweet 
peas. They are beautiful messengers of good-will, 
and I make just as many friends as 1 can by distributing 
bouquets of flowers, and all through the season I try 
to keep in the public library a fresh bunch of this beauti- 
ful flower. Each Sunday after services eager hands 
wait for the bunches that have decorated the church. 
My season of bloom this year will be about four months, 
and then in September I begin to plant again, but most 
of my sowing is done in October or November, and then 
in March I plant seed of the very latest novelties. 

W. T. Hutchins. 

Santa Rosa, Calif., August 1 1, 1909. 



74 




The late Henry Eckford, V. M. H., 
Who died at Wem, England, December 5, 1905, aged 82 years. 

While other men, including his son, are doing good work on the 
sweet pea, it was he alone who blazed the way for others to follow. 
Born in Scotland at Stonehouse, near Edinburgh, on May 17, 1823, 
he began as an apprentice in 1839 in the Gardens of Lord Lovat, 
Beaufort Castle, Inverness. In 1854 he was appointed head gardener 
to the Earl of Radnor at Coleshill, Berkshire, where during his stay 
of twenty years he raised many new dahlias, pelargoniums and 
verbenas. In the year 1878 he accepted the invitation of Dr. Sankey 
to take charge of his gardens at Sandywell, Gloucester, with the view 
of raising new seedlings of florists' flowers. At this time no one had 
thought of any radical improvement in sweet peas and Mr. Eckford's 
magnificent work was begun in 1879. 

As long as the sweet pea is cultivated the name of Henry Eckford 
will be cherished and revered. To few men is it possible to do so 
much for their day and generation. 



75 



TRELLISES 

For those who prefer a trellis, we give illustrations 
of four of the most practical, such as have given entire 
satisfaction at Fordhook Farms. 




Make supports of com- 
mon furring strips, also top 
rail. Set supports eight feet 
apart. For horizontal wires use No. 16 
galvanized. Avoid knotty lumber. Run 
wires from every dot, twenty-six in all. 
Height above ground six feet, and 
twelve inches wide. 



76 



TRELLISES 




Set the supports eight 
feet apart. For horizontal 
wires use about No. 16 gal- 
vanized. Have the lower 
wires come just outside the 
double row of vines. Make 
supports and top rail of 
pine or spruce one and a 
quarter by two and a quarter inches. Height above 
ground six feet, and twelve inches wide at base. 



77 



SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 




This trellis is made of 
part twine. It has three- 
inch-square posts, and an upper and 
lower frame of furring strips. At each 
end are two perpendicular wires of No. 
10 galvanized, and running lengthwise 
are two horizontal wires of the same. 
The diamond work can be made of 
strong twine, and should be fastened 
both at the middle wire and top and bottom strips. 
Have the rows of vines come inside. Set posts eight 
feet apart. One foot is enough for width. 



78 



TRELLISES 




Made of coarse meshed 

poultry wire. It can 

sometimes be bought 

with seven inch mesh. 

Posts three-inch-square stuff, and top 

and bottom rails as per cut. Set posts 

ten feet apart. . Height six feet. It is 

well to run three horizontal wires on 

each side about six inches out to hold 

the mass of vines where they fail to 

fasten securely. 



79 



nn 25 i9iQ 



FOUR "DONTS." 

p. - x expect Sweet Peas to thrive in soil too poor 
for any other culture, or in a sunless location. 
They need, as nearly as possible, a free deep loam, mod- 
erately rich and freely cultivated. 

pv 'x sow too shallow. Plant the seed not less 
than two inches deep, and when the plants 
are two or three inches high draw the soil up to them 
in ridge form. 

r\ >f overfeed. With a view to obtaining vigor- 
ous growth and profusion of bloom, bone, in 
some form, is the best fertilizer. Nitrate of soda will do 
for a "hurry-up" stimulant, should such be needed; 
but use it sparingly. 

P> <i gather the blooms grudgingly. The more 
you cut the longer the vine will continue to 
flower. Remember, when they go to seed Sweet Peas 
will cease flowering. 



80 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 

zt mo 



Burpee's Farm Annual 

"The Leading American Seed Catalog" 

A bright book, published January ist of each year, 
is mailed FREE to all who write for it. JZ^ 5 If you 
have not received it for the current year, or need a copy 
for a friend, please apply either by letter or on a postal 
card. It tells the plain truth about Seeds, including 
rare Novelties which cannot be had elsewhere. Beau- 
tiful colored plates and illustrations from nature. Gives 
information of real value to all who would raise the 
choicest Vegetables and most beautiful Flowers. 

Our Aim 

is to supply not only the "Best Seeds that Grow," 

but to help you in an intelligent selection of varieties 
and also in their successful culture. 

15 3 It will pay to read the Cultural Leaflets offered in The 
Farm ANNUAL and also for further information, on special subjects, 
to study the useful HORTICULTURAL BOOKS, which we have 
published at nominal prices. - 

Burpee's "Blue List" 

Our Wholesale Price-List of Seeds in Larger 

Quantities is mailed free on application 

to Market Gardeners 



If You Plant for Profit 



vou should write at once for 
this Wholesale List, BUT 

we cannot send it to private planters, even if requested to do so. 

A TT<spfu1NpwFpfltiirf» in Bur P ee ' s "Blue list" 

/Y VJSCIUI new redlUie that wil , be of special interest to 
growers who plant for profit is the "plajn talks'' we give in every 
department, as to just the best varieties for different purposes. 



Shall we mail you ONE or BOTH Catalogs ? 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO. 

Seed Growers Philadelphia, Penna. 



BURPEE'S SEEDS are sold in 
any quantity, but only under 
seal. They are always Genuine 
as dated, — if seal is unbroken 





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